Soul of the Machine
by Swordshade
Summary: Shepard has taken control of the Reapers, but at the cost of his humanity. With the relays down, the Normandy and her crew are stranded and crippled. But perhaps if they can find each other, all hope is not lost. Rated M for eventual violence and language.
1. Chapter 1

Commander Shepard stared at the data on his omni-tool, trying his best to take in every word and diagram. Activating a weapon as powerful as the Crucible without fully understanding it could be disastrous, and the galaxy would be in bad enough shape when this was over without a malfunction or misfire. He was dimly aware that the Catalyst was still speaking, but he'd stopped listening after the AI had given him the data on itself and the Crucible. He had more important things to worry about.

Every ounce of energy and focus not spent on understanding the machine went towards the arduous task of simply keeping him alive. His body felt heavy, even with the charred remains of his armor removed. Every breath took conscious effort, and he could feel the blood gurgle in his windpipe. Many of his various implants had been fried, now contributing only to pain rather than the healing process. Most men would not be standing at this point, let alone analyzing complex schematics.

It was lucky, then that he was not an average man, but an N7 engineer. Understanding combat tech and functioning under lethal conditions were in his job description, and he soon found what he was looking for.

Shepard added "liar" to his mental list of the Catalyst's personality traits, right under prideful, traitor, and insane. What It had referred to as Its own three solutions were in fact functions of the Crucible, added through the cycles in the hopes that at least one of them would work and stop the harvest. Rather than abandon the original design in favor of new plans, it appeared those who modified the plans wanted to keep all options open. The current version of the Crucible was essentially three different machines in one hull.

And now it fell to Shepard to choose which was best for the entire galaxy. _No pressure, _he thought grimly.

Directly in front of him was a pale green beam. Simply stepping into it would begin a process that the Catalyst had called "Synthesis." Ostensibly, it would use a cybernetically enhanced organic as a template for all life in the galaxy, uniting them as one race by infusing organic DNA with synthetic enhancements and synthetic minds with organic understanding. Both the Leviathan AI and the notes in the now fully decrypted blueprint insisted this was the best option.

Actually looking at the devices schematics, it was clear that whoever came up with this plan was either insane or indoctrinated. Even if it were possible to do the things it claimed, the Synthesis component's only actual function was an oversized incinerator. he didn't even want to think about how much time and resources they could have saved by ignoring it.

The other options, however, showed promise. They both relied on the Reaper network. The Catalyst was its heart, and directly connected to every Reaper "ship" through an extensive network of advanced quantum entanglers. Each Reaper then had a range measured in _light-years_ at which it could control ground troops and indoctrinated thralls.

The Crucible's original purpose, total Reaper destruction, was represented by a mass of red machinery to his right. If used, it would delete all reaper code within the thrall control range, then trigger a self destructive eezo chain-reaction reaction within the Reapers themselves. Curiously, the way to start the device was to shoot it. Then again, he supposed he could appreciate the desire to symbolically shoot harbinger and its ilk in the skull.

This was the most surefire solution, but came at a heavy price_. All _Reaper code included that within the Geth and EDI. It mattered not that they were independent of the Reapers, simply being in proximity would ensure their destruction, or at the very least severe mental trauma. Destruction would cost the Commander a dear friend, and the galaxy an entire species that had only just began to show its worth.

Additionally, due to the presence of the Catalyst, the Citadel was considered by the Crucible to be a Reaper body. The resulting explosion would almost certainly kill any survivors still left on the station.

That left controlling the Reapers. It appeared the Illusive Man had been correct. Using the blue console to his left, an individual could replace the Catalyst with their own mind. Though they could plan, react and,in the case of particularly old ones like Harbinger or Sovereign, even show hints of personality, the Reapers were not true individuals, but extensions of the Catalyst's will. Once a new being was in the AI's place, the machines would obey them as limbs obey the brain.

The indoctrinated Cerberus leader would have changed nothing by being in control, but Shepard could. But could he trust himself with that power? The Illusive Man had thought control was his destiny, and the pursuit of this goal had only turned him into a pawn himself. Shepard may not have been indoctrinated, but he was still mortal and therefore corruptible. How long could he expect to handle absolute power before he became just as monstrous as anything he'd fought?

The Spectre sighed, immediately regretting the action as his lungs struggled to refill. His choices were hypocrisy or genocide, and he didn't have long to decide. He changed programs on his omni-tool and began to record what might be his final message.

"This is Commander David Shepard, Council Spectre. I am going to attempt to gain control of the Reaper network. Its stupid, dangerous and it may not even work." he paused briefly to cough up an unsettling amount of blood. "If you manage to find this and the war is still going, it means I've failed. Ignore anything the Catalyst tells you and shoot the red console to kill the bastards directly. Also on this tool, you will find personal messages for each of my crew. Make sure they get them." His voice began to falter as sorrow welled within him, but he forced himself to keep going. "And Tell Joker I tried to save her. If this doesn't work, he'll know who I'm talking about."

"Finally, tell Tali I love her. I'd have never made it this far without any of the crew, but her especialy. Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, if I can't return to you in this life, I will wait for you in the next, and that's a promise." He had been trying to avoid thinking about her, knowing the tide of sorrow and regret it would unleash. It was entirely possible they would never see each other again. Even if they did he would be different.

Tali may have come to respect synthetics, but would she ever love a machine? Would she trust him when he wore the face of those that had slaughtered trillions? He looked once more at the path to his right.

No. Destroying the code was an insult to Legion's memory. It would kill the only thing that made Joker truly happy. It would cripple the chances of the galaxy rebuilding, especially Rannoch. He removed the omni-tool, placed it on the charred pile that could charitably still be called his armor, and hobbled toward the blue console.

* * *

Joker's fingers danced furiously over the Normandy's controls, and he knew something similar was going on inside EDI's brain. It was taking all their combined effort to evade the reaper beams filling the space around them. Ocasionaly they took a position to fire their own weapons, but aside from one lucky Thanix bolt to a lone Reaper's "eye," their assault barely even dented the barriers of the machines.

A voice unexpectedly arose from the comm unit. "All fleets, this is Admiral Hackett. The Crucible is armed. Disengage and proceed to the rendezvous point." Joker grinned with excitement and relief. It had to be Shepard. When the shuttle returned without him, most of the crew had assumed the worst. Then they heard he and Anderson had made it to the beam, but nothing since then.

Joker began typing the Crucible's coordinates. He felt a hand on his shoulder, but waved it off. The hand returned, more forceful this time. He turned to find it belonged to Kaidan.

"Joker, it's time to go." The Major's voice was firm, but calm.

"What are you talking about? The Commander needs a pickup, and I'm not gonna let someone else get credit for the rescue."Joker's carefree mask began to crack. "I won't leave him this time."

Kaidan nodded in understanding, but did not change his position. "We need to get to the fleet. Garrus is injured and Tali's unconscious. Chakwas needs help to stabilize them. If Shepard makes it out, he'll find us. Right now, we need to leave."

"Damn it." Joker was fighting back tears, but he knew Kaidan was right. "Setting course for the Charon Relay"

* * *

Shepard had faced pain. He'd been shot, stabbed, caught in explosions and been nearly devoured on Akuze. Hell, he'd died twice now, once to the vacuum of space and once a few seconds ago when the Crucible had broken down his body, cell by cell, to fuel the mind transfer. This was beyond all that.

The human mind was designed to accept small pieces of information, building understanding over time. Computers took it all at once. As the knowledge of countless races and the feeds of a million sensor suites tried to find a place in his mind, he could feel them slowly ripping it apart.

_Fucking idiot, _he cursed himself, _this is exactly what happened with project Overlord_. An organic brain could only process so much at once, and it seemed converting flesh to data didn't change that.

He had one last shot. If he could Isolate himself from the rest of the system, lock himself in a virtual box, he could remain there and work on a new solution, keeping his sanity in tact. It wouldn't be easy.

He had always been quick with computers, a fact that many on Omega were quite thankful for, but now he was working from the inside. That, compounded with the sheer amount of code, made the process agonizingly difficult.

Finally, he gained control. He gathered all the code that had been his brain, pushed everything else away, and locked himself out of the system. It had probably only been seconds in reality, but it felt like years from the inside. Feeling his thoughts clear, he began to think up a new plan.

It was clear direct control of the Reapers would not be possible without sacrificing his sanity. But if he kept himself isolated, he had no guarantee the Reapers wouldn't simply continue their last issued orders. It was a common feature in drones and mechs, and it was unwise to assume it would not apply here. Even running on fixed programming they could still very well destroy at least the allied fleets, and likely any planets they currently inhabited.

Suddenly, a solution occurred to him. There was no reason the new Catalyst had to be fully sentient. But a VI in charge of that many processes wouldn't be easy to build. Even for a simple combat drone, Shepard rarely started from scratch, instead using the latest version of a template he'd created back in the earliest days of his tech training.

But now there was no template, and next to no time, despite its slowed effects on a synthetic. _But if __I'm software too now..._

Carefully, he reached outside his virtual panic room to retrieve data on a single subject. Even this limited contact made him start to lose cohesion, but he held together and returned with new knowledge.

Using all the understanding the Reapers had on the human brain, he created a program that would severely limit free will to the confines of specific goals. It was effectively suicide, but Shepard would gladly sacrifice himself if it meant the survival of all other sentient life. All he had to do was pull the metaphorical trigger, and they would all have a future.

As he faced the end, his thought lingered on the _Normandy _crew, past and present. His loss would pain his strange adopted family, but even Tali would understand his choice if she ever learned of it.

But they deserved more than that. He decided he had to at least try to give them something better. Using his last seconds, he compiled a final gift, hoping against everything it would be found.

Then all was darkness.

* * *

Due to its speed and position in at the edge of the battle, the Normandy was the first ship to get close to the Relay. It was also the first to see that the Reapers were headed there as well.

When the Crucible fired, it released a wave of blue light. It passed over the allied fleets with no effect, but every Reaper it touched immediately turned for Charon. Traynor sent a message to the fleets not to approach the rendezvous, while Joker and EDI pushed every bit of speed they could into getting to the Relay first. Turning around required slowing down, they would have to get to Exodus to change course.

The ship hit the relay before the Reapers, but as soon as they exited its mate, an explosion rocked the ship. The whole crew lost consciousness in a flash of blue as the ship spun through space, careening at FTL speeds toward a nearby planet.

* * *

The VI that had once been Commander Shepard now had total control of the Reapers. Free of the desire to understand, it could access the entire network. Without free will, it would not grow corrupt. It had orders, and would neither stray from them nor hesitate in their execution. It began to decide how best to carry out its tasks. Most related to rebuilding and recovery, but there was one in a category all its own.

Deep in the archives lay one large block of data it was forbidden to access. Though it had many programs capable of cracking the lock, its base code would not allow it. It would only open in the presence of a specific bio-signature, that of a young quarian Admiral.

* * *

**It's finally done. The first chapter of my first multi-chapter fic. I know a lot of post ME3 stories start with the crucible, but due to the incredibly small amount of non-Destroy, non-Indoctrination stories, I felt it was necessary to begin here. Next chapter will pick up at the Normandy crash site, and will hopefully be up within a week. Please let me know what you think. As previously stated, this is a first for me, and feedback will help me improve.**


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing Garrus noticed when he woke up was the pain. Not a single square inch of his body lacked a burn, cut or sore. Considering He'd been nearly hit by a flying tank, he was lucky to have got off this easy. The Mako had landed not ten feet in front of him, showering him with a dense cloud of heat and shrapnel. Garrus had been hurt bad, but he would heal in a week or two.

He was far more worried about Tali. She'd been much closer, and even her armored suit wasn't designed to take that much damage. He remembered Shepard handing her too him, hood torn, mask cracked, suit covered in blood. Their goodbye had been one of the hardest things to watch in Garrus's life. When the shuttle doors closed, Tali had sobbed until the blood loss put her to sleep. Had he tear ducts he would have joined her. Along with her, he'd been with Shepard since the beginning. The man was practically his brother.

He longed to return to slumber, drown out the pain from his memories as well as the physical wounds. He had a promise to keep first_. "Keep her safe." _Slowly and with great effort, he pushed himself upright and opened his eyes. Looking down, he could see much of his upper body covered in gauze, the wrappings stained with cobalt. He suspected his lower half looked much the same under the white sheets.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty!" The sudden voice fell like a knife in Garrus's skull. "Well, beautiful's really pushing it, but at least I have a bandage pal now." Only one man could act so infuriatingly cheerful at a time like this.

"Joker?" Garrus rasped, turning to face the voice. Sure enough, the pilot sat on the the opposite bed, grinning despite the cast covering his arm and chest. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Turns out ship crashes and Vrolik Syndrome aren't a good combo. Still, could've been a lot worse. Chakwas is checking the rest of the crew." Joker's voice became slightly more serious. "And before you get worried, Doc says Tali should be ok. She and EDI hit the decontamination unit and performed surgery in the AI core, since it's probably the cleanest place on the ship. Glass and shrapnel's been taken care of and they stopped the bleeding, but without a transfusion she'll be out for a few days until her body can replace some of the blood. Probably for the best, really. Doc said the antibiotic cocktail they pumped in doesn't mix well with anesthetics. After she's done with the crew Chakwas'll grab her normal suit from the CO's quarters. Armored one's useless now,and she'll need to be wearing one before she can leave. EDI's still in the core room, she'll let us know if any thing new happens."

"That's good to hear," Garrus replied with sincerity and relief. "But when did we crash? " The turian rubbed his aching forehead. He tried to remember what happened after entering the med bay, but all he could recall was a flash of blue.

"I believe I am the best qualified to explain the situation," EDI's voice called out from the intercom. "When the Crucible was activated, it released a wave of energy. When this wave came into contact with the Reapers, they began to follow us to the Charon Relay. While we were able to reach it several minutes ahead of the machines, we were only seconds ahead of the energy pulse. It also traveled through the relay, causing it to explode.

"Exploding mass relays?" Garrus Interjected. "Didn't that take out a whole _star system_ last time?"

"Based on my logs," the AI explained, "it appears a single, critical component was destroyed as opposed to the complete annihilation of the Bahak Relay. The blast was still incredibly violent, but much more localized. It is my theory that this is how the Crucible was intended to destroy the Reapers, sending a signal that somehow lured them to the nearest mass relay before detonating it."

"Wait, question," Joker cut in, raising his good hand. "Wouldn't that also disable intergalactic travel? Even if it's only damaged and not gone, I don't think anyone has the know-how to fix a dead relay. And if this thing was supposed to kill _all _the Reapers, it probably also took out all the _relays._"

"You are correct, Jeff," EDI replied. "It is possible whatever cycle initially designed the Crucible had a better understanding of the technology and felt they could make repairs. Alternatively, it may have simply been deemed an acceptable alternative to extinction."

"Fair enough," the pilot said, "but that still doesn't explain where we are now or why no one seems to remember any of this but you."

"While we escaped the heart of the blast, it still knocked us off course. Contrary to all laws of probability, our new trajectory took us close enough to a planet that I was able to make corrections and land the Normandy relatively safely. Our communications, navigation, drive core and QEC are down, but our hull is intact. We are currently on Eden Prime, though by my estimates we are far from the colony. As for the second part, The Crucible pulse seems to have had the secondary effect of rendering organics unconscious, though I have yet to arrive at a satisfying answer why this is."

_Eden prime, _Garrus thought, mandibles twitching with amusement. _It's almost like the Normandy has a natural attraction to this place._ His eyes grew darker as a new realization rose to mind.

"I assume no comms means no word on Shepard." It wasn't really a question, but Garrus got an answer anyway. It did not inspire confidence.

"No word on him, or anything else for that matter." Joker slowly shook his head, not even bothering to pretend to be happy. "We're completely in the dark about anything past the air locks."

"While it is reasonable to assume that the Crucible caused similar relay damage and bouts of unconsciousness in other systems," EDI added, "the more specific state of the galaxy and Sol in particular is unknown. Shepard's fate is even more ambiguous."

"Spirits," Garrus breathed, gazing at the AI core. "What are we going to tell her?

* * *

_Five Days Later_

Tali stood in stood in the elevator, barely even noticing that it moved even slower than usual. Her mind was numb to her senses, even the pain of the fresh scars and burns under her suit. Yesterday had not been a good day, and she was still feeling it's effects.

She had awoken from a nearly week-long coma, only to learn that they were stranded with no way to contact help. Even worse had been the news that Shepard had not returned to the Normandy. While he was far from confirmed dead, the fact that his fate was one small piece in an entire jigsaw puzzle of unknowns was hardly more comforting.

The memorial wall service hadn't helped. The small monument bore two new names: _Admiral David Anderson (MIA), Commander David Shepard (MIA)_. The crew had insisted she be the one to place his name. Those final three letters should have given her hope. Instead, as she had attached the plaque to the wall, it felt almost as though she were the one killing him. Several of the crew had tried to talk to her afterwards, even _Javik_ appearing concerned, but she simply walked past them all.

She'd spent the rest of the night in their cabin on deck one. This turned out to be a poor decision on her part. The room was far more organized than it had been the night before Cronos Station, meaning things had shifted in the crash and EDI had tidied up. It only made the room seem unnatural, almost fake. The bed had been even worse. Without David, it felt cold and uncomfortably large, almost as if it were trying to swallow her. She doubted she had got even an hour of true sleep.

The elevator chimed, signalling her arrival on deck two. She moved silently through the empty deck to the airlock. Joker was still in the med bay, and many of the human crew had left in the shuttles to try to find the main colony and get help with repairs. Liara and Javik had gone with them, hoping to find something useful at the dig site.

Stepping through the inner door and locking it, the Decontamination cycle started. Tali gripped her toolbox tightly. The day was going to be long, and she needed something to keep her busy. She had killed Geth, mercenaries, terrorists, and even Reapers. She'd hacked impregnable systems and improved a supposedly perfect ship. She had even helped take back the homeworld, without resorting to genocide. But now, Admiral Tali'Zorah vas Normandy faced the one challenge she could not bear to even think about.

She was alone.

True, there was the rest of the crew, but she could tell they were broken as well, even if not to the same extent. Garrus had looked in far to much pain last night to blame it solely on his healing burns.

_Keelah, David, where have you gone? _She asked silently. _We're all so lost without you. Come back to us. Come back to __me__. I need my home._

The outer door beeped twice and opened, signalling Tali was clear to leave. She stepped of the ship and down the ramp, looking for work.

* * *

**Chapter 2 marks the end of explanation and the beginning of plot! hopefully I can stay on this once a week schedule and make some longer chapters coming up. Let me know what you thought, and have a wonderful day.**


	3. Chapter 3

Five times the distinctive triple-crack of an Incisor echoed in the jungle. Five bundles of fruit exploded in the highest trees. Garrus let the spent thermal fall, adding to the growing pile on the Normandy's roof. He slotted a fresh clip into the rifle and took aim again, despite the protest of his newest scars. He really should be resting, not agitating the wounds, even if they were largely superficial at this point. He didn't care.

He was angry. Normally, he'd turn the rage into focus, do something productive. But his technical prowess was limited to weapons and security, not much use to the current repairs. Failing that, he would go to the shuttle bay and spar with Vega or Shepard. But James was doing heavy lifting for Adams and Shepard was...

_Not here_, Garrus thought. _Because we left him._

On some level, he understood it had been necessary. He couldn't blame the others for following orders, any more than he could blame himself for the injuries that forced Tali and himself to flee the final assault. It just felt so _wrong_. To follow him for so long, only to vanish at such a crucial moment felt like the ultimate betrayal to Garrus, even though Shepard _told_ them to run. He didn't know if he'd ever forgive himself. He had _almost _forgiven the crew. And then last night...

Five more bursts. Four more hits. A muttered curse.

_How could they be so cruel, so utterly tactless?_ _Awake for only hours and they make her put his name on that damned wall? _They had said it had to be done, that Shepard deserved the honor, that they only waited so long so Tali could be there. A few had gone so far as to act confused at her obvious pain. _Don't they get it? It doesn't matter what the plaque says, that monument is for the dead, not the missing. To take that hope away from her, when we have no evidence?_

Two hits this time. "Damn it!"

And Shepard _was _alive. Garrus was sure of it. He was sure because...

No, he wasn't sure. For all they knew, everyone in Sol could be Reaper paste by now. But he _needed _it to be true.

_"There is no Shepard without Vakarian," _the Spectre had told him. But the reverse was even more true. Twice, serving on the Normandy had given him renewed purpose, saving him from life as a disillusioned C-Sec officer and death as a betrayed vigilante.

_He gave me a reason to live, something to fight for, and I pay him back by leaving him to die?_

Five misses. He should've known this was a bad idea. Anger made him make mistakes. And mistakes made him angrier. Still, there was nothing else to do with his fury at the moment, so he loaded another heat sink.

* * *

Liara walked silently through the ancient bunker, Javik just as quiet a few feet ahead of her. The dig site was deserted, just like the settlement around it. It was hardly surprising. Cerberus had slaughtered everyone who lived or worked here before the Normandy arrived to collect the prothean. The resistance was more concerned with keeping them out of the main colony than taking back a few empty buildings. The last report the Broker had received said they were doing well, thanks to the intel she and Shepard had provided them. Still, Cerberus was much better equipped than the colonists. And the same report had also mentioned Reaper presence. She hoped they were still holding out.

With the ship's long-range comms down, they wouldn't know until Kaidan and his team (comprised of himself, several marines, in case they needed to fight, and Traynor with a list of materials needed to fix the ship) brought the shuttles back from Constant in the morning. Well, morning by the Normandy's clock. The local sun had risen ten hours ago and would be up for another fifteen.

Exploring the ruins had been enjoyable, if uneventful. They had found very little that would aid in getting them off the ground, but given that this was a military installation and not a shipyard, that was to be expected. What they had found plenty of was information, both in the form of computer data, which they copied and stored to translate later, and in memory shards like the one in Javik's stasis pod. That technology still fascinated Liara. How many secrets were locked away in these strange artifacts, waiting for the last prothean to make them known once more?

Her musings were interrupted by old pain as she thought of her team from Therum. They would have loved to have been here, learning the history of the previous cycle from one who had actually experienced it. She pushed the memories aside, as she had so many times before. It would not do for the Shadow Broker to be outwardly affected by the deaths of a few researchers, especially not years after the fact.

As Liara and Javik made their way back towards the exit to find a place to sleep for the "night," she realized the prothean hadn't said a word in over half an hour. Though he wasn't especially talkative, this long a silence was unusual even for him.

"I realize coming back here must be difficult for you. Would talking to someone help?" Though she was far from a therapist and Javik could be abrasive, she still did not wish for him to be more uncomfortable with the situation than necessary. The prothean did not respond to her sudden and somewhat awkward question for several minutes. She was beginning to think he was deliberately ignoring her when he finally spoke.

"This place holds many unpleasant memories," he began, continuing to move as he spoke. "Not only my own either. I can still read the dying thoughts of a few of my comrades, even after all this time. But they are nothing I have not thought of during my time in this cycle. My current concerns are of the crew."

"Worried about us 'primitives?'" she inquired, unable to completely conceal her amusement. Javik stopped walking and turned to face her.

"No, Liara T'soni." He had been using her real name more often, but it still surprised her to hear it. "The races of this cycle are ready to shed that title. Your technology is still limited. Your biology is strange. Many of your cultural and moral ideals could not be farther from my own. But you have done more harm to the Reapers in a few short years than my people did in a few hundred, despite the meddling of your politicians. That alone is worth my respect."

The use of her name had caught her off guard. Javik's full reply left her speechless. When she did not respond, he continued.

"That being said, we will not know if our victory is complete untill we leave this planet. It has been almost a week and we have not even completed the repairs for which we have spare parts!" Javik's anger surprised Liara. It was not that the emotion itself was uncommon, but she had not seen it directed toward anyone from the Normandy since their argument near Thessia.

She was about to try to explain the crew's grief and lack of guidance, but he cut her off, sensing the reply before it was voiced. "You do not need to give the reason. It would be easy to read the effects of the Commander's disappearance even without my people's abilities. But until we learn otherwise, we must assume we are still at war! The presumed death of one man, no matter how influential on either a personal or galactic scale, cannot be allowed to keep us out of the fight. You have all functioned without Shepard before, and must do so again if we hope to see any future for this cycle."

As shocked as she was by his blunt statement, she could not fault the cold logic of his words. Still, if he were to talk like this in front of the rest of the crew there would be problems, perhaps even a fight. This had to be dealt with now.

"While I understand your concern," she intoned with forced calm, "I believe we are doing our best under the circumstances. For many of us, the Normandy crew is like a second family. Shepard was the heart of that. The loss of someone so close-"

"Is nothing you have not dealt with before!" Javik's cutting rebuttal opened more old wounds for Liara. This time she was reminded of Virmire and Noveria as well. Though initial dismissive or even disapproving of her "alien" teammates, Ashley had warmed up over time. In the final days before her death, she had even begun to think of the Chief as a friend. And to lose her own mother only a few days later, by her own hand no less, had torn her even farther apart. This time she could not recompose herself. She dropped to her knees and she could feel the tears begin to fall. She looked up, wondering how the prothean would react to such a display of weakness.

To her surprise, the ancient soldier wore an expression she had never seen before. His emotions were often hard to read, his face being so different from any modern species, but judging by the most common markers it appeared to be... Remorse? Empathy? Hesitantly, as if Javik himself did not know what he was doing, he kneeled down and placed his hand on the asari's shoulder. When he spoke, his voice was softer than she thought possible.

"It was not my intention to bring back the past. I know the pain it can carry better than most. I... apologize." Liara had heard him use the word only once before. This time, she believed him. Shortly after the attack on Sanctuary, Shepard had told her that Javik finally "read" the shard from his stasis pod. He said the prothean had described how his old team was Indoctrinated. He had been forced to hunt them all down, to kill them and watch them die to ensure they would do no further harm to his people. She remembered how hard it had been to end Benezia's suffering. She could not imagine doing it multiple times.

Slowly, Jaik rose to his feet, pulling Liara up with him. "I will not discuss this matter again," he conscessed, all eight pupils focused on her two. "However, time is still of the essence. Shepard never allowed his grief or guilt impact the mission, though I know he felt enough for a dozen lesser men. We must strive to do the same."

Liara nodded in agreement. "Dead or alive, we owe him that much."

Without warning, the Prothean tensed and spun in place, sending a wave of green energy out from his right hand. Liara herd a feminine scream and the crackle of broken shields as a formerly cloaked figure fell to the ground several yards away. A sword clattered on the floor as the prothean's biotics tore the lightly armored form to shreds.

"There are more up ahead," he whispered, drawing his rifle.

* * *

The thickness of hull plating and the materials used in its construction often interfered with wireless transmissions, despite the advances in their range and penetration. For this reason, most ships had transmitters, receivers, and navigational sensors mounted externally. These pieces were expected to need periodic replacement, so it was not uncommon to carry spares.

Tali was currently in the final stages of installing the Normandy's port set. Once she was done with this side, she would move on to starboard. After that, the system would be complete and ready to come back online. Without the relay they would be limited to the Exodus cluster in range, but that would still allow contact with the colonists, Normandy ground team, and any hypothetical rescue or scouting vessel that passed by. It would also allow EDI's mobile frame to function outside the ship again, which could be helpful in further repairs.

In order to accomplish her task, the engineer was standing on a small mobile scaffold that gripped the ship's hull with powerful magnets. She prayed they would continue to hold. The device was designed to project a mass decreasing field in case of a fall, allowing her to float slowly to the ground. She had no desire to test this feature, however, and found herself holding her breath every time the platform moved to a new section of the ship. The near-constant stream of rifle shots and profanity above her wasn't doing much to calm her nerves either.

The combination of useful work, mortal terror, and mild irritation was doing an excellent job of keeping her thoughts away from Shepard. This was good, since when she'd done so earlier she hadn't even decided on a single emotion long enough to process anything. Hope that he was alive, fear that he was dead, regret they'd had so little time together, anger at the Reapers for separating them once again. It had paralyzed her, mind and body, until she forced herself to work. And so work she would, until exhaustion finally granted her that rare, dreamless sleep one can only experience when they have burned through all reserve energy.

The quarian ceased working for a moment as she was overcome by a coughing fit. The cause was a buildup of excess mucus, the last remnants of a rather nasty reaction to the Earth's microorganisms. A year ago it might have killed her, but apparently Mordin's medications were good for more than just a few suitless nights in the CO's quarters. Even in death, the old salarian's work was helping people, and Tali suspected that was just the way he'd want it. When she could properly breathe again, she returned to work.

The last sensor was proving to be quite difficult to remove. The bolts that held it in place had melted inside their holes, forcing her to carefully cut it free with her omni-saw. She then retrieved a plasma torch and a small, heat-resistant vacuum from her toolkit. The heat from the torch did not harm the threaded channels of Silaris armor, but reduced the remains of the bolt to liquid, which was promptly removed by the vacuum.

Tali allowed the hull to cool while she replaced the old wiring and connected the new sensor, then attached it fully with a new set of bolts. Her omni-tool fabricator created a simple powered socket wrench for the task. It performed admirably before being broken down once more to base materials. The quarian then gathered the few physical tools she had used and put them back in her toolbox, along with the old sensors. She would strip them of any usable parts later. The recycling techniques she'd learned from life in the Migrant Fleet hadn't previously been required on the Normandy, but now there was no way of knowing what they would or wouldn't be able to replace.

She brought up the scaffold's control interface on her omni-tool and ordered it to move to the airlock. The Normandy didn't have a round enough bow or stern to simply let the device crawl to starboard, so she would have to walk it down the ramp and around the ship before letting it climb up the side. Just as the platform reached the airlock, it opened with a loud _hiss. _The sudden shock combined with the halt of momentum nearly knocked Tali off balance.

"Hey, Sparks, you doin' alright out here?" asked the large marine in the doorway "Adams asked me to check on ya." James Vega was a good man and a skilled soldier, but he needed to learn where it was acceptable to surprise people. On a narrow ledge twenty feet in the air was not one of those places. If she fell without the scaffold, nothing would catch her. While the fall itself might be survivable, she certainly wouldn't escape without harm. She had no desire to spend another week in the med bay, and if she reopened the medi-gel "stitches" in her side, Chakwas would kill her.

"I'm fine, James," Tali replied, ignoring her near-death experience. "We should have comms and navigation in another two hours or so. How are things inside?"

"Tech's really not my forte, but I can repeat what I'm told," he replied, offering a hand to help her across the short gap to the ramp. She took it, unnecessary but appreciated. "Adams is doing what he can with the drive core and all the... stuff that connects to it, but he says there are just some parts we don't have. EDI is helping him. Ken and Gabby are taking a look at the QEC. That'd be the most useful thing to get running, talk to Hackett if he's still there and find out what the Hell happened, but it doesn't seem like they think it's gonna happen. They said all the quantum stuff is fine, but the reader is shot."

Tali nodded thoughtfully. That made sense. She didn't fully understand the actual entanglement part of the device, but the reader was what translated the shifting particles into audio-visual feed, or vice-versa if they were transmitting. It was very small and complex, the perfect recipe for breakage. Unfortunately, it was also still too expensive and rare to carry spares, and the materials were outside the capabilities of omni-fabricators. The QEC was what she'd wanted working most too, as their best chance of finding out about the Reapers.

_And, more importantly, David, _she thought._ No! Focus on what we __can__ fix for now._ It would get them answers eventually, and keep her busy until then. Needing another task, she retrieved the scaffold and began to walk down the ramp. Vega's large hand on her arm halted her progress.

"You sure you're OK Sparks?" The concern in the soldier's voice was genuine. "I know you get into your work, but usually you're a bit more chatty." They hadn't known each other as long as the rest of the ground team, but combat had a way of quickly forming friendships. If you were going to count on someone to watch your back, it helped to get to know them. Which meant he surely knew exactly what was bothering her.

Tali did not wish to discuss it at the moment, so instead she simply said, "I didn't sleep well," and shrugged out of his grip. It wasn't a lie. Nightmares were nothing new to her, but for the past few months, Shepard had always been there to talk her back to sleep.

_"It's only fair,"_ David had said one night, _"you've done the same for me more times than I can count." _But now he wasn't there to help her, and she wasn't there for him wherever he was. _If he's still out there at all._

She was going to break down again if this kept going. She turned to leave again, hoping James would get the message and drop the subject. No such luck. The Marine stepped in front of her and crossed his arms, blocking her path. They stood there for several minutes staring at each other. The only sounds were the breeze and Garrus's rifle. Finally, Tali accepted defeat.

"Why did you really come out here, James?" she asked with a sigh.

"Because somebody needs to talk to you," he said plainly. "Him too," the marine added, nodding in Garrus's direction. He then cupped a hand to his mouth and shouted, "but I'd hate to interrupt the Great Space-Banana Genocide of 2187!"

The response was a turian curse either so obscure or so vulgar that it slipped past Tali's translator.

"Don't mock him," she whispered angrily, "he's hurting!"

"And so are you," James shot back."So the question is, are you gonna let it keep eating you like him, or are you gonna do somethin' about it?"

After a moment's thought, she had to admit he was right. When the SR1 was destroyed, she hadn't felt even remotely normal untill she started talking to Auntie Raan about it. Why would keeping this to herself turn out any better? She stepped around the large man, but motioned for him to follow. She took a seat against a nearby tree, and he claimed one next to it. After sitting for several minutes composing her thoughts, Tali began to speak.

"I don't need to tell you how horrible this war has been. You've seen more of it than I have." This second statement was more than a little bitter. Despite her best efforts to make them focus on the real threat, her people had rushed into war with the Geth. The conflict had ended better than anyone could have hoped, but it shouldn't have happened at all. More of both races would be alive today, both would have joined the allied fleets sooner, and she could have returned to the Normandy as soon as it was airborne. It was her home ship, after all. By quarian law, as well as her heart, it was where she belonged.

She took a deep breath, bringing her back to the real world. _I can't change the past,_ she thought, _we're here to discuss the present._

"But through it all," the young Admiral continued, "no matter what monsters we had to fight, how much destruction we had to watch, how many friends I had to watch die, there was one constant. I loved David, and he loved me. We were there for each other each night, and would be there in the morning to wake up to. It made everything else bearable, even made me believe that someday the pain would be gone. That one day, the Reapers would be nothing but a memory, and we'd have nothing to live for but each other." She bowed her head. "It was foolish really. Maybe even a bit selfish. But he made it all ok, somehow. Like I didn't need to be scared."

James shook his head. "Ain't nothin' wrong with a little hope, _amiga," _he reassured. "It's the only thing that kept any of us going, even Loco. He was like a whole different person before you showed up. Still determined to win, but almost like he was being forced to continue. You gave him something to really fight for. You should have seen him after Tuchanka. Yeah, seeing a him kill a Reaper with a thresher maw was pretty badass, but that night? He spent hours alone at the bar, went through bottle after bottle of our strongest stuff. Wouldn't talk to anybody the whole time. Chakwas had to order him to get some rest, and even that wouldn't have worked if EDI hadn't locked him out of the lounge."

"The same thing happened after Grunt's rite," Tali said morosely. "He still has flashbacks to Akuze. Losing Mordin the same day... He was a good friend." It was more than that really. without the doctor, she and Shepard would be limited to held hands and loving words. As awkward as it had been at the time, no words could express her gratitude for his help. "I should have been there for him."

"You had a duty to your people, and he understood that. What matters is that you didn't stay gone forever. And he's gonna need you again when we get back." While they all wanted the Commander to be alive, James was the only one that seemed to wholeheartedly believe it. Tali wanted to agree with him, but couldn't shake the memory of her father on the Alarei.

"You have no idea how much I want to believe you, James, but I've known that kind of hope before. It just ends up hurting more in the end."

"Come on, Sparks, just think about it. Guy killed a Reaper on foot, and you think pressing a few buttons in a space station took him out?" The look on his face said he honestly believed it was the most ridiculous idea he'd ever heard. "We know the Crucible worked, and there wasn't anybody could have pulled the trigger but Anderson or Shepard. Don't see how one of them would've made it but not the other."

"But we still don't even know what the Crucible actualy did!" Tali shouted, gesturing wildly with her hands. "It definately did _something_ to the Reapers, but how do we know they're gone? And why did it take out the mass relays? EDI has her theory, but are we sure all the damages were as controlled as they were here in Exodus? We don't even know if there _is_ still a Sol to go back to!" She caught her head in her hands and rubbed her visor, then continued in a whisper. "I'm sorry, James. I didn't mean to get angry. It's just... After all this, if theres nothing to come back to? I don't even want to think about it."

"So don't," James said with a shrug. Tali's response was a blank stare. The soldier chuckled. "I know I probably sound like an idiot, but hear me out. Way I figure, It's gonna take a while to get off this rock, and a long trip after that without a relay. If we're gonna make it that far, it'll take a little optimism. We can grieve later, _if _it's necessary. For now, we focus on the positive and get shit done, _comprende_? Don't think about what happens if Loco ain't there, think about what if he is. Come on, two a' you must've had some kinda plan."

Vega was persistent, she would give him that much. Maybe he did have a point. Dwelling on worst-case scenarios wouldn't get her answers any faster. Tali opened one of her pockets and pulled out a small, reddish-brown stone.

"Your plan was a rock collection?" Her muscular friend joked. "Is that Shepard's idea of a romantic hobby? Real winner you picked yourself there, Tali."

"Well, one man can't be perfect at _everything," _the quarian giggled, thinking of his"skills" on the dance floor. "But no, that's not what this is for. It's a symbol of a promise he made me. When we first touched down on Rannoch, we talked about how my people would have to get used to home being a fixed place instead of something we took with us. David picked up this rock and gave it to me so I could do both." She shook her head slightly. "That probably sounds silly, doesn't it?"

The marine shrugged. "Maybe, but it also sounds kinda cute. Just don't tell the others I said that," he amended, flexing his muscles. "Not good for my macho image if they find out I'm a big softy."

"Dont worry, James," she assured, "your secret is safe with me. Anyway, after that, and all the fighting, we sat on that cliff where we fought the Reaper from and talked some more. Stubborn _bosh'tet_ tried to get me to stay there." She rolled her eyes at the mere memory of the suggestion. She had grown quite fond of the human gesture. "As if there was anywhere I'd rather be than by his side. After I shot that down, he promised we would come back after the war, and build a home right on that spot. A real house, first one either of us would ever live in, just for the two of us."

"Now we know he's coming back!" Vega exclaimed. "The Loco I knew would never break a promise to a gal like you. Neither would I, come to think of it. I've seen how you work that shotgun. Still, its hard to imagine you two just settling down for a normal life, leavin' all this excitement behind."

"The first interspecies couple to set foot on Rannoch in three hundred years? I'd hardly call that normal, James," she chortled. "And I don't think we'll get bored any time soon. After all, we still need to see how my people react."

"They don't know?" the soldier asked in utter disbelief. "The way you two acted on that dreadnought, I don't know how anybody didn't see it."

"And yet EDI still had to clear it up for you," she reminded him. "And that was private aside from you, anyway. We kept it secret in front of the Admiralty and the general public, but that idea died when Rannoch's Reaper did. That casino date wasn't exactly subtle, we ate together every time we stopped at the citadel, and I know for a fact at least Auntie Raan saw us kissing on the homeworld."

_Our _first _outdoor kiss, _she remembered, _the sun on my bare face for the first time, the gentle breeze blowing in to my helmet. And David, wonderful and passionate as always. Keelah, that was a good day._

"They know, I just haven't talked to anyone but Raan about it."

"What'd she think?" Vega asked.

"She said she'd known for a while, actually, and that she was happy for us," Tali said with an unseen smile. "I think she's suspected it since she saw how hard I took Alchera, even if both of us would have denied it at the time. She said she saw something about the way we acted around each other at the trial. The rumors that have been floating around since we came back from the collector base only made her more certain. Of course there were rumors about _everyone_ who got seen in public with him. Did you know some of the tabloids even had him hooked up with Grunt and Zaeed? As in _both_ of them, at the same time!"

"No kidding? Have to dig those up on the extranet next time I'm looking for a quick laugh." The marine stood up, and Tali followed suit. "Better get to work for now, though. Good talking to you, Sparks. Hope it helped."

"It did. Thank you." The engineer's head was much clearer now. She would never have admitted it to herself, but this was something she had needed. She would deal with whatever reality came later. For now, it was best to cling to hope, lest she fall into despair.

Suddenly, James stopped in front of her. He signaled her to do the same with one hand while cupping the other to his ear.

_What does he hear, _she thought, focussing her own senses. Suddenly realization hit her. It was what they _couldn't _hear that worried him.

* * *

Garrus had not fired a shot in several minutes. Instead, he was carefully scanning the trees to confirm what he thought he had seen. Finally, his raptor-like eyes found the oddly familiar black and white shapes once again. He gazed down his rifle scope for final identification.

He could see a fairly large group of armored human men and women. Perhaps three dozen in all. Each carried some sort of firearm, ranging from pistols to sniper rifles and LMGs, and a few had swords or riot shields. All bore the same symbol on either their breastplate or paldrons: an elongated hexagon, slit open at the bottom, with short, crooked lines on either side.

With a malicious grin, Garrus chambered another thermal and took aim, this time with complete confidence. _Anger_ made him make mistakes, but this familiar cold inferno was not anger. It was hatred. And if he had learned one thing on Omega, it was that he could work just fine with hate.

* * *

**Author's Note: Yay, I'm not dead! I know it has been considerably longer than a week, but introducing new characters was challenging and I needed to rewrite a few sections. I tried to make everyone act and talk like their canon selves,with perhaps a bit of character development for Javik. It also has a lot more length than the first two chapters. hopefully I did well, and the conversation between James and Tali didn't feel too long. I couldn't find anything to cut, so I tried to add some humor where it didn't break the flow. If anything feels off, feel free to tell me in a review. I'll be responding to each one from now on (unless I suddenly get hundreds, but I don't see that happening three chapters in as a new author) I can't promise when the next chapter will be up, with my classes back in full force, but I can promise it'll be a break from all this feelings stuff for some good old-fashioned violence and a bit more plot advancement. Super original, bringing Cerberus in, I know, but they've got a plan I haven't seen yet, so I think I can keep things interesting. More of the actual Control elements to come as well. Thanks for reading!**

**-Swordshade**


	4. Chapter 4

After a few long seconds of silence, Garrus's rifle sounded twice more, accompanied by a shout of "Hostile contacts!" from the man himself. A chorus of new weapons answered the Incisor's call from the other side of the_ Normandy_.

Tali and James ran for the nearest cover, a chest-high rock pile under the ship's nose. Once in this relatively safe position, Tali did a quick evaluation of threats and assets.

Peeking around the boulders, she could see the assailants scrambling for cover of their own. Along with roughly twenty standard Cerberus troopers, she could make out at least four Guardians, a pair of engineers, a lone Centurion shouting orders from the rear, and a handful of Dragoons. There were also faint shimmering patches that an untrained eye might mistake for heat haze, but Tali knew masked the presence of Phantoms.

Garrus was still firing from the Normandy's roof, giving him height advantage and a good view of targets, but little in the way of cover. James was unarmored and unarmed, but did have a weak shield generator strapped to his belt. Tali, on the other hand, had very strong shields built into her suit, and carried both her weapons nearly everywhere except on the ship or in Shepard's apartment. Paranoid, perhaps, but this was far from the first time she had needed them on such short notice. She drew the Carnifex for herself and handed the Eviscerator to James, then set her omni-tool to combat mode. A series of holographic buttons appeared around her left hand, positions carefully arranged to be easy to reach but hard to hit accidentally.

"Try to stick to cover and watch our flank," she said. "I'll help Garrus try to thin them out as much as possible." James nodded in agreement and began scanning for close-range targets.

Tali pressed one of her omni-tool keys, causing a pair of silver spheres to appear in her hand as her visor made note of remaining fabricator materials. She tossed one of the capsules into the air, and it began to hover and glow blue as the drone came to life.

She stood up and hurled the second drone at a trio of advancing Dragoons.

The familiar pink sphere of Chatika _vas_ Paus bloomed into existence, and began to zap the enemy soldiers. The shock was greatly lessened by their heavy armor, but they predictably turned their attention to drone. Taking advantage of the distraction, Tali rapidly discharged several shots into her foes, dropping two before ducking down to change thermals. As she killed the third, her defense drone shot a bolt of lightning to her side, stunning a Phantom that had gotten in close. She turned to face the biotic swordswoman, but a series of shotgun blasts pulverized the target before she could get a shot off.

"I got your back, Sparks, just keep shooting!" Vega yelled. Tali, nodded in thanks and rose out of cover to check the battlefield once more.

Garrus appeared to have dropped all the Guardians, and his shots continued to seek out high-threat targets. Chatika had made its way into a crowd of troopers, and was regularly hitting them with its chain lightning. Tali decided to assist, dispatching the soldiers easily with the help of her drone.

Suddenly, her shields dropped to near zero as a Nemesis peeked from cover on her right. The sniper did not return to cover quickly enough, however, and Tali pressed another omni-tool button. The Nemesis's shields overloaded and sent a pulse in Tali's direction, refilling her own barriers and stunning the target in the process.

Spotting a nearby engineer attempting to set up a turret, she wirelessly sent a virus in its direction. The auto-gun successfully deployed, but its scrambled friend-or-foe protocol caused it to immediately open fire on its master. The turret mowed down the engineer and Nemesis in rapid succession, then moved on to the remaining troopers. Now the only enemy in sight, the machine quickly fell to combined fire from Garrus and Tali.

After several minutes with no gunfire, Tali was reasonably sure the fighting was over. She turned around to rest against the rocks and check on James. The soldier had kept his promise of watching their flank; the corpses of three Phantoms and a Dragoon littered the ground around him.

"Are you hurt ?" the quarian asked.

"Bullet grazed my arm," he replied. "Hurts like a bitch, but it doesn't look bad. Chakwas'll still want a look at it, probably. You?"

She let her suit run a quick diagnostic. No suit breaches, no new injuries, and the sealed ones were holding. "All good here," she announced.

"What about you, Scars?" Vega shouted. "You hurtin'?'"

"No," Garrus growled as he approached the pair, having made his way down on his own scaffold.

"Sounds like we did alright then," James said cheerily. "Why do you think they waited so long to hit us?"

"Most of our fighters are gone, including all our biotics. Now is the best time to strike. They probably didn't even expect us to be armed," the turian stated.

"I guess so, but they weren't moving right," James replied. "They were slow and didn't work strategically. What do you think is going on there?"

"Don't know," Garrus said, gazing predatorily into the distance. "Lets find out." He continued to march toward the field of Cerberus corpses.

Tali agreed they should look into this, but Garrus's behavior was beginning to worry her. She lowered her voice and turned to address James. "Go tell the crew what happened and get Gabby and Ken to pick up where I left off with the comm repairs. It looks like I might be out here for a while."

Vega nodded and handed her her shotgun before sprinting toward the ramp. Tali stowed the weapon and turned to follow Garrus.

* * *

As Javik's particle rifle cut through the last of the helplessly floating troopers, Liara allowed the singularity to collapse, tossing the bodies to the floor. Counting the Phantoms from earlier, they had eliminated exactly fourteen Cerberus grunts.

"Do you sense any more?" Liara asked, sweeping the room with both her eyes and her N7 Hurricane. The prothean was silent for a moment as he focused his perception.

"No," he decided finally. He could neither smell, hear, nor "read" any living creatures aside from the asari and himself.

"Odd," she said nervously, still not entirely convinced. "They've never hit us in such small numbers before. Maybe the colonists did more damage to them then we thought?"

"Perhaps," Javik agreed, "but the that is not the only way the attack was unusual. Surely you noticed the disorganization, the slowed reaction time?"

"Yes, I thought that was odd as well. Any idea what was going on?" The pair kept their weapons drawn but began moving once more. The ruin entrance was only a few bends away. Though Javik was too prideful to say it aloud, they both knew his senses were not completely infallible, and it would be unwise to let their guard down.

"Maybe," Javik stated. "I sensed the same taint I have come to expect from Cerberus, but it was weaker. Whatever is controlling them may have been damaged."

"That's good news, isn't it?" Liara asked "It could be part of whatever the Crucible did."

He had explained this "taint" to Liara in a previous discussion. There was a vague but certain feeling of what could only be called "wrongness" that emanated from deeply indoctrinated individuals. Like a second consciousness that wasn't fully present. Whatever Cerberus had done to vast majority of its field agents left them giving off something similar but different. His best guess was that they were being manipulated by something other than the Reapers, something Cerberus had built. Not that the distinction mattered much. The Illusive Man had clearly fallen to the machines' influences, and any ailment of the mind affects the behavior of the body.

"Perhaps, but it does not fit with our current theory," Javik said. It is unlikely whatever Cerberus uses to exert its control was anywhere near a mass relay." The exit was in sight now.

"The pulse affected the Reapers too," Liara pointed out, "and from what we could see it was radial from each relay, not linear. It very likely hit everything in civilized space."

"We do not know enough to jump to such conclusions. For now it is best to check on the_ Normandy_," the prothean advised.

"And how do you suggest we do that? I still can't get a comm signal out."

"There was no one here when we arrived," he explained. "Our assailants must have brought some form of transportation."

Sure enough, a lone Cerberus Kodiak sat just outside the ruins, only a few yards from the elevator that once carried Javik's stasis pod. The pilot must have been part of the attack squad, as the shuttle was completely empty. Liara took the controls and they lifted off.

* * *

"If we're looking for information, shouldn't we stop and search their tools?" Tali asked, carefully stepping around another body. "I know Cerberus designed them to fry when the owner dies, but there's a chance I can still pull some of the data. Get enough different fragments, and I might be able to piece together something useful."

"No need," said Garrus, continuing toward the treeline. "I left one alive, should be able to get everything from his." Reaching their destination, Tali was greeted with the sight of a still breathing, but quite effectively immobilized Centurion. His legs below the knees were useless, the joints having been reduced to a gory mess of blood, shrapnel, and blue cybernetics.

"How did you disarm the ocular bombs?" Tali asked, trying hard not to vomit. Corpses, she was used to, but she'd never seen such grievous wounds on something still alive. She'd also never seen such brutality from Garrus. If the turian worried her before, he _terrified_ her now.

"Modified one of my proxy mines," Garrus clarified, pointing to a glowing, orange disk affixed to his victim's helmet. "Emits a pulse that blocks the remote detonation trigger. Lets see what he knows."

Tali connected her omni-tool to the Centurion's and began to transfer its memory, keeping the unfortunate man's legs out of her view. She could still see his upper body, which suddenly began to move. Frightened, she jumped back and drew her shotgun. In contrast, Garrus casually strode forward and placed a foot on his chest.

"I was hoping he would wake up," Garrus said calmly, almost gleefully. "Maybe this one will even talk for a change."

In response, the Centurion stared at the turian foot restraining him. "This should hurt," he said after several minutes, confused. His gaze moved downward, finding his own mangled legs. "That should hurt!" he shouted, now clearly panicked. He looked up at his captor and pleaded, "Why don't I hurt? What did they do to me?"

"I was hoping you could tell us," Garrus commanded. He put more of his weight on the man. The Centurion might not feel pain, but his choked gasps confirmed he still needed to breathe. "_Now_." The turian eased the pressure slightly once more to allow him to answer.

"Men in white armor, this armor," he realized, looking at his own chest, "raided our colony, took everyone they didn't kill to some lab. Filled us with machines. I started hearing voices. They made me go places, do things, but I don't remember where or what. I hurt people, killed them but I don't know who or why. Then the voices stopped for a minute, and I started to remember."

The man paused to take several deep breaths, then continued. "Then there was a new voice. Not as loud though. Tried to fight it, but it didn't work." He looked back up at Garrus. "It went away again when you shot me, but I can hear it whispering again. Can you make them stay gone?"

"Maybe if we get him to Chakwas she can help," Tali suggested.

"I don't think so," Garrus replied emotionlessly. "He's filled with Reaper tech and, according to him, It's already starting to take control again. Do we really want him on the ship?"

"No, but we can't just leave him here," Tali pleaded.

"Don't plan on it," Garrus said with a cold grin as he raised his omni-tool. "Your download finish?"

"Yes," she answered, not understanding the relevance.

"Send it to me. I'll take care of our friend here." She complied, and Garrus pressed a button on his tool.

* * *

"EDI, let me talk to Gab and Ken," James requested, stepping into the elevator. He pressed the "3" key as he waited for a response.

_"Of course,"_ came the AI's calm voice over the intercom. _"Engineers Donnely and Daniels, Lieutenant Vega wishes to speak with you."_

_"What just happened out there, big guy?"_ Gabby asked._ "Sounded like too many guns for Vakarian's target practice."_

_"I was curious about that as well,"_ EDI added. _"Until Ms. Zorah completes repairs, I am effectively blind."_

"That's actually what I need to ask the grease monkeys about. We were hit by a Cerberus strike team. Sparks, Scars, and I took em' out, and now they're gonna see if they can get any intel. They don't know how long it'll take, so you two need to get on the sensor installation."

_"Cerberus? Is it safe out there?"_ Ken asked.

_"Did anyone get hurt?"_ added Dr. Chakwas. Apparently EDI had added the med-bay to the call as well.

"Just me," James replied. "Already medi-gelled it, but I'm on my way to see you anyway. As for danger, they should be gone, but I'd take sidearms and hardsuits, just in case."

_"We'll get right on it, James."_ Gabby assured.

EDI terminated the link as the elevator opened on Deck 3. Dr. Chakwas was already waiting with the med-bay door open. James held his wounded arm up as he entered the sterile, white room. Joker looked up at him from the far-most bed.

"Only one damn bullet in the entire firefight breaks shields, and they hit your arm?" The pilot said incredulously. "Those guys must have went completely Stormtrooper since the last time we fought."James nodded as Chakwas poked, prodded, and cleaned his wound.

"It was real weird," the soldier replied. "Not a sign of the creepy hyper-coordination they usually have either."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Joker retorted.

"Maybe," Vega agreed, "but it still doesn't sit right with me. How's it look, Doc?"

"Not bad," she answered. "Closest to a miss I've ever seen. Barely even broke the skin. Just the gel should be fine."

"So I can get back out there? If they do come back I don't want our engineers undefended."

"We're a little short on options at the moment, so I don't see why not," she replied, " Just let me know if it gets irritated."

"Might want your armor this time, too," Joker added. "On this team, paranoia pays off."

With a nod to the pilot and a quick salute to the doctor, James headed once more to the elevator and keyed in Deck five. After stopping at his locker long enough to strap on his armor, visor, Typhoon, and Wraith, he exited via the cargo ramp.

He spotted Tali and Garrus standing around a Centurion. It looked like they were talking to him. Curious, he jogged over to meet them. He arrived just in time to see Garrus hit a command on his omni-tool. The Centurion's head exploded like a melon.

* * *

Tali stared at Garrus with abject horror.

"The fuck was that, Scars?" yelped James's voice behind her, echoing her thoughts perfectly.

"You did say we needed to do something about him," Garrus stated, as if had not just killed a man in cold blood. He didn't even look up from his omni-tool.

"Not like that!" She shouted. "He was no threat to us, and you heard him talking! There was still a person in there, no matter what Cerberus did to him. We could have helped!"

"Not likely. Besides, waste of a good mine otherwise." Still unconcerned, Garrus turned to James. "It's good you're back. A team of three will be better when we head out."

"Team for what?" Vega inquired, still in shock.

"Once I break this encryption, we should know where Cerberus is based on this planet. Can't be far," the turian reasoned. "I don't see any sign of a vehicle."

"I don't care if it's right under your damn nose," James hissed. "After what I just saw, I'm not sure I want to go anywhere with you."

Garrus shrugged and continued to type. "Your choice, I'm going either way." He took several long strides away from them. "I'll work over here while you two talk it over."

"What the hell is with him, Sparks?" the marine whispered. "I know he ain't afraid to fight dirty, but executing prisoners is another matter entirely."

"I don't know," Tali replied. "He's not acting like himself at all. He's acting on impulse, he doesn't care who he hurts or offends. I've yet to see any emotion but anger and hatred from him today. And this brutality? I just don't ... No. No." She shook her head and repeated the word several more times.

Realization hit her like a brick. She had seen her friend like this before, once. Almost a year ago on the Citadel.

"Got it!" the turian called, beginning to move. "Just a few miles this way." Tali grabbed James's arm and looked into his eyes.

"We need to follow him, or things get a lot worse," she pleaded. "Oh, keelah, this is bad." Vega could see fear in her stance and the shape of her eyes.

"Alright Sparks, we'll go. What's going on, you're acting like you've seen a ghost." In a way she had. The pair began to run to keep up with Garrus.

James was worried now as well. "Talk to me, Tali, you're seriously creeping me out right now."She turned her head towards him, but did not stop running.

"He isn't acting like himself," she breathed, "because he's not Garrus right now. He's _Archangel."_

* * *

**Nearly two weeks late, but at least it's still January. It's clear now my schedule moves more than I thought, so the best I can promise for now is at least one chapter a month, at least until the next major school break. It feels like this should be longer for the amount of time I spent on it, but I'm. Otherwise ok with it. Thought about drawing out the combat ****more, but I don't think it would really add anything and I'm still not sure I'm great with large scale battles. As always, reviews are appreciated and I'll try to have more soon. We're closer to liftoff than the Word count might lead you to believe.**

**I'd also like to thank Tsyne-Oblivion, who has volunteered to help edit this and future chapters.**

**-Swordshade **


End file.
